The Triforce Wielders Recurring: Goddesses and Allies, Villains and Enemies, Races Main Series: The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Oracle games, Four Swords, The Wind Waker, Four Swords Adventures, The Minish Cap, Twilight Princess, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, Skyward Sword, A Link Between Worlds, Tri Force Heroes, Breath of the Wild & Tears of the Kingdom Spin-Offs: Philips CD-i Games, Hyrule Warriors, Cadence of Hyrule, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
Tropes that describe the characters of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.
As this game is a direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, be aware of unmarked spoilers, especially in regards to the true identity of some of the main characters. This includes spoilers for this game's Final Boss.
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Heroes
Link
Voiced by: Sachi Matsumoto
After losing Tetra to the mysterious Ghost Ship, this young hero embarks on an ocean-wide quest to free her, and later, the Ocean King.
He is the same Link from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. For more information on him, see that game's character sheet.
- Badass Adorable: His cuteness is matched by his high skill in battle and outsmarting Phantoms.
- Battle Boomerang: The player can direct it by drawing lines with the stylus.
- Bow and Sword in Accord: He gains a sword early in the game, and can gain a bow in the third dungeon. Both are crucial to defeating Bellum.
- Colour-Coded Timestop: By the end of the game, he can use Ciela's Time Spheres to freeze time in grayscale.
- Cool Sword: He can get the Phantom Sword near the end of the game. Not only is it forged from three one-of-a-kind metals and has the Phantom Hourglass lodged in its guard, but it's the only weapon powerful enough to kill the otherwise invincible Phantoms.
- Experienced Protagonist: Make no mistake, despite his goofy exterior this is the exact same Link who defeated Ganondorf.
- Flaming Sword: After powering up Leaf, he can have his sword lit on fire.
- Forgotten Fallen Friend: After leaving home in the King of Red Lions at the end of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the opening of this game shows him living on Tetra’s pirate ship before being whisked off to his new adventure. Whether he got rid of the sailboat or just wasn’t using it at the time is not explained.
- Heartbroken Badass: He is devastated when he sees that Tetra has been turned to stone.
- The Hero: Already the Hero of Winds, Link sets out to save another ocean from a great evil and carries on the legacy of the Ocean King.
- Heroic Mime: Usually, but he subverts it by shouting for Astrid over a wall.
- Infinity +1 Sword: He obtains the Phantom Sword late in the game, which lets him slay the Phantoms in the Temple of the Ocean King.
- Kid Hero: Link is still not beyond the age of thirteen in this game.
- Kleptomaniac Hero: As per usual with the incarnations of the hero, but Link starts his quest by swiping Oshus' sword from his hideaway.
- Spin Attack: After gaining the Swordsman's Scroll, he can perform three consecutive spin attacks before conducting the Great Spin Attack, which is as destructive and chaotic as it sounds, but leaves him temporarily dizzy after it concludes.
- Sword Beam: He can use this technique after powering up Ciela.
- Undying Loyalty: To Tetra. Finding her is Link's main motivation for the first half of the game. When he finally does so, he is left devastated by the fact she has been petrified as a result of the Ghost Ship's curse, and sets out to find a way to bring her back to normal.
Linebeck
The captain of the steamship Link uses in Phantom Hourglass. He's a complete coward, and only agrees to help Link when he learns of the possible treasure involved. He provides most of the comic relief in the game.
- Accidental Hero: He once saved Jolene from a sea monster by ramming it with his ship...when he was trying to escape.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: His skin turns purple after fusing with Bellum.
- Anti-Hero: Lineback, oh, Linebeck. He makes it very clear he's only letting Link use his ship not because he wants to set sail with him, but because he just wants the treasure that awaits him on the Ghost Ship. Then when it turns out there was no treasure, he gets briefly upset before he's told the Ocean King will grant him a wish—which immediately gets him to motivate Link to continue his quest.
- Arc Hero: For Phantom Hourglass. Linebeck gets the most background and Character Development in the game and his first act of true bravery serves as the climax of the story.
- Boss Remix: When he becomes possessed by Bellum, the boss music is a remix of his leitmotif.
- Character Development: He goes from a greedy, cowardly crook to saving Link and Tetra from Bellum, then giving up his original goal of treasure so he can get his ship back.
- Cool Boat: He ends up treasuring his S.S. Linebeck more than the riches he's pursuing.
- Cowardly Lion: Well before his Character Development sets in, he proves himself willing to charge into the dreaded Temple of the Ocean King to find clues about the Ghost Ship. He tends to leave the adventuring to Link once they team up, though.
- Cowardly Sidekick: He never accompanies Link during his adventures in the dungeons or the islands, insisting on watching over his ship.
- Demonic Possession: He becomes the final boss under the influence of Bellum.
- Deuteragonist: Shares the role with Ciela. While Ciela accompanies Link on the islands and in dungeons, Linebeck ferries him around and gets the brunt of the story's Character Development.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: He rescues Link and Tetra from Bellum by stabbing it in the tentacle with the Phantom Sword. He then gets possessed by Bellum in retaliation.
- Dirty Coward: Initially, Linebeck is a spineless fraud who gladly throws Link in harm's way and take credit for his adventuring. Luckily, he grows out of it by the end.
- Dub Name Change: His name is changed from Lineback in the original Japanese.
- Every Man Has His Price: For most of the game, Linebeck won't think of going into danger without some kind of reward. The only thing that initially keeps him on Link's side after finding out the Ghost Ship treasure was a hoax was the promise of a wish from the Ocean King.
- Heroes' Frontier Step: Linebeck spends most of the game as Link's Cowardly Sidekick, only really being heroic by association. But when he took up the Phantom Sword to hold off Bellum until Link could wake up he showed everyone that he has the heart of a hero.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In his first legitimate act of bravery, Linebeck picks up the Lokomo Sword and stabs Bellum to save Link's life, resulting in Linebeck himself being captured and possessed.
- Heroic Suicide: He attempts to decapitate himself after Bellum possess him in the manga, so that the Eldritch Abomination wouldn't be able to use his body.
- Hidden Depths: While Linebeck is a cowardly, shaking bottomfeeder for most of the game, Jolene implies in her final fight with Link that he used to be more like the green hero when he was younger.Jolene: I think that what you're attempting to do is crazy, and yet... there is something about your stubborn personality that...draws me. The one who captivated me so long ago had that same look in his eyes.
- Identical Grandson: Linebeck III is this to him in The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his mean-spirited and cowardly attitude, he is a good person at heart. Good luck getting him to show it.
- Legacy Character: As of Spirit Tracks, he has a descendant living in New Hyrule (Linebeck III).
- Lovable Coward: He's incredibly cowardly, but he's also very humorous at the same time, given his constant excuses to not go into anything remotely dangerous and various other blunders. In spite of this, everyone continues to put up with him.
- Manly Facial Hair: He has a slight mustache, and even before meeting Link he was an experienced sailor who was willing to run into the life-draining Temple of the Ocean King.
- Miles Gloriosus: Linebeck presents himself as a skilled adventurer and explorer. In reality, he's a cowardly idiot mooching off the success of others.
- Mundane Wish: Upon being given a wish to have granted, in the end, Linebeck's only request is for the Ocean King to bring his ship back after it was sunk by a falling mast, rather than wish for treasure (or three more wishes, as he considers at one point)
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: He puts himself in harm's way to save Link at the end, and ends up getting possessed for it.
- Oblivious to Love: Even after all the time he spent with Jolene, he still doesn't understand why she would be so upset at him stealing a treasure from her, even if it wasn't a particularly valuble one.
- Only in It for the Money: He's initially only interested in going after the Ghost Ship so he can get his mitts on the treasure that's rumored to be on board. He's not happy when he finds out that the rumors were exactly that, nearly calling off the quest and refusing to ferry Link around anymore, until Oshus offers him some further incentive.
- Papa Wolf: He stabs Bellum with the Phantom Sword and gets himself possessed just to save Link. In the manga, he even attempts a Heroic Suicide to keep Bellum from hurting Link.
- Primary-Color Champion: He wears a blue coat with yellow buttons to match his red scarf. It takes a bit of Character Development, but he finally lives up to the heroism that these colors imply.
- Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: You're being chased by his ex Jolene throughout the game, and are forced to fight her if she catches up to your ship.
- Redundant Researcher: Linebeck makes an interesting twist on this trope, being a character who very much wants to discover the secrets of the local Temple but has done very little to actually work for it. Other characters, however, do make a considerable effort to uncover the Temple's secrets, as evidenced by the large number of corpses inside. Linebeck also fails to carry a sword, let alone the legendary artifact that actually allows people to survive the temple. Even so, he still does more to assist Link on his quest than almost any other character in the game. Not that this stops the Exposition Fairy from teasing him for his bragging and cowardice.
- Tsundere: Linebeck is a male example, both to Link and to the fairy Ciela. At a late point in the game, he manages to call the latter by her name.
Ciela
Voiced by: Kaori Mizuhashi
A white fairy with Laser-Guided Amnesia, who found Link on the shore. She helps him throughout the game.
- Acrophobic Bird: The two abilities you get from the Spirit of Courage are sword beams and a Colour-Coded Timestop ability — neither of which have anything to do with courage as they allow you to attack from a distance or when your enemy can do jack-all to defend themselves.
- But Now I Must Go: An interesting variant in that Link is technically the one who's leaving, but Ciela tells him that as much as she would like to stay with him after the game ends, her place is alongside the Ocean King with the other spirits.
- Colour-Coded Timestop: Grants a brief, grayscale version of this to Link during the final battle with Bellum in the form of Phantom Spheres. Link must draw an hourglass shape to stop time.
- Deadpan Snarker: Only regarding Linebeck. She doesn't just hate his jerkish, cowardly behaviour, she despises it. Which makes sense for the Spirit of Courage. She does show some appreciation for the "heart of gold" part of him, though.
- Deuteragonist: Shares the role with Linebeck and serves as Link's primary companion and Exposition Fairy.
- The Dividual: After defeating Crayk, a fairy similar to her appears. It's then revealed that Ciela is the Spirit of Courage and she was split in two, and the two fairies fuse back into Ciela's original form.
- Dub Name Change: She's called Sciele in Italian.
- Exposition Fairy: She's a Suspiciously Similar Substitute of Navi and Tatl, even having similar attitudes to both of them.
- Fusion Dance: After you find her other half at the Temple of Courage, they fuse back to restore Ciela's original form.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: She's lost her memories when Link meets her. Later, you find out that Bellum stole them when he attacked her. Regaining them during the penultimate encounter with him is key to defeating him.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Though it was hardly an intentional disguise on her part, it appears being a white fairy instead of a yellow one was the only thing that kept Leaf and Neri from identifying her as the Spirit of Courage earlier in the game.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Navi, even featuring the same voice, albeit her personality is a bit more short-tempered. Once Ciela's true power and "color" are revealed, she becomes a Suspiciously Similar Substitute of Tatl from Majora's Mask.
- Sword Beam: When Link equips her as his cursor, she lets him do these once she awakens as the Spirit of Courage and is upgraded. At first they start out narrow, but at full power they becomes large waves.
Oshus
Spoilers
Oshus' true form as the Ocean KingCiela's father figure, who lives in a hut on a cliff on Mercay Island. He is a grumpy, ill-tempered Cool Old Guy.
- Ambiguously Human: He comes off as an ordinary old man at first, but he demonstrates an ability to teleport almost anywhere and has access to strange magic powers. He's revealed halfway through the game to be a controllable human body created by the Ocean King to escape Bellum.
- Arch-Enemy: To Bellum, as the Ocean King. The two have been in conflict with each other for over a century.
- Big Good: The god-like entity that resides over the world that bears his name.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: He has a pair, even in his whale-like Ocean King form.
- Clone Angst: A variation. While Oshus doesn't personally mind being a clone of the Ocean King, he's very jaded by how little a threat he poses to Bellum and how little he measures up to his old self.
- Dub Name Change: He's called Shiwan in the original Japanese, and is named Siwan in the European French and German dubs.
- Elderly Immortal: In his Ocean King form he still retains his elderly characteristics but is immortal.
- Everyone Has Standards: He's visibly taken aback when all Lineback can think of after learning of Bellum and the true purpose of the Ghost Ship is that there was never any treasure to find. He confirms it, seemingly just out of spite.
- Grumpy Old Man: While he's never outright hostile, he tends to be a bit stuffy at times and maintains a mostly-serious demeanor throughout the game.
- Hero of Another Story: He sparsely references his encounter with Bellum and his navigating the Temple of the Ocean King with his creation, the Phantom Hourglass.
- King Incognito: Only a select few are aware of his true identity. The general populace remain unaware.
- Light Is Good: He's the Big Good of the game and he's a white whale.
- Me's a Crowd: The Oshus that Link encounters above land is actually a clone of the Ocean King.
- Mr. Exposition: Reveals a lot of the plot halfway through the game, including revealing his identity as well as that of the evil being that's tormenting this world.
- Remote Body: Oshus is eventually revealed to be this for the Ocean King.
- Sealed Good in a Can: Bellum sealed his power and he is forced to remain in old man form.
- Walking Spoiler: It's hard to describe him or his role in the plot without revealing that he's actually the Ocean King.
Servant Spirits
A trio of fairy spirits who ordinarily serve the Ocean King, but have all been sealed away by an unidentified evil force. Link must find and free them all in order to track down the Ghost Ship and rescue Tetra.
- Equippable Ally: Once they get powered up with Gems in Spirit Island, they can be equipped (but only one at a time) on the Collection Screen to enhance Link's abilities. Leaf and Neri boost Link's attack and defense, respectively, while Ciela gives him the Sword Beam.
Spirit of Power
Leaf, the Spirit of Power. A red fairy who was held prisoner inside the Temple of Fire by a wizard-like creature known as Blaaz.- But Now I Must Go: Departs from Link's side once the game is over, in order to return to serving the Ocean King.
- Dub Name Change: He's called Lief in German.
- Exposition Fairy: He's the one who first informs Link about how dangerous Phantoms are and what must be done to avoid them.
- Failed a Spot Check: Neither he nor Neri realize that Ciela is the Spirit of Courage until her powers are restored, despite her retaining the same name, voice, and personality that she presumably had before.
- Fairy Companion: Once you've upgraded him using Spirit Gems, you can select him to be your guide instead of Ciela, which also ups your attack power.
- Flaming Sword: Equipping him lights your sword on fire, increasing its damage and letting you stun Phantoms by hitting them in the back.
- Flat Character: He doesn't receive a lot of focus or development as the game progresses.
- Informed Attribute: Unlike Ciela, he lacks anything close to the type of personality you'd expect from the Spirit of Power.
- Non-Indicative Name: Leaf, Spirit of Power, and has nothing to do with trees.
- The One Guy: Not only is he the only male among the three servant spirits, but he's also the only one of two out of all the fairies we've seen in the series. The only other was Tael, the brother of Link's fairy guide in Majora's Mask.
- Playing with Fire: When he's equipped as your ally, he'll cause Link's sword to become engulfed in flames, first with just a sheathe and then a burning flaring aura at full power. This is the also the only way to increase Link's attack power in the game, curiously; the Phantom Sword isn't any more powerful than the one Link starts out with otherwise.
Spirit of Wisdom
Neri, the Spirit of Wisdom. A blue fairy who was sealed away inside the Temple of Wind, guarded by a giant flying Octorok known as Cyclok.- But Now I Must Go: Departs from Link's side once the game is over, in order to return to serving the Ocean King.
- Dub Name Change: She's called Nelly in Italian.
- Exposition Fairy: She educates Link on the Phantom Eyes he encounters on the later floors of the Temple of the Ocean King.
- Failed a Spot Check: She evidently failed to realize that Ciela was the Spirit of Courage until it was explained outright.
- Fairy Companion: As with Leaf, you can upgrade her power using Spirit Gems to equip her as a fairy guide. In her case, she'll enhance your defense and your shield.
- Flat Character: Exists more for plot-based reasons than as an actual character.
- Informed Attribute: Apart from telling Link about the Phantom Eyes, she doesn't act or do anything remotely wise or intelligent throughout the game.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Rather than give Link an stronger shield, the game uses her to upgrade the one he starts out with. Having her equipped enables it to deflect most regular attacks, and Link can even stun enemies with it just by walking into them. Even without the shield, she provides boosted defense.
- Shield Bash: With her equipped, you can walk your shield into smaller enemies to stun them.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: If anything, she’s this to Navi even more than Ciela is, being a blue Fairy Companion with a similar name who’s renowned for her knowledge and intelligence. She and Navi are also both Nice Girls, unlike Ciela with her Jerk with a Heart of Gold tendencies.
Spirit of Courage
See Ciela's folder. Tetra
A young pirate voyaging in search of a new land until her crew encounters the elusive Ghost Ship.
She's the same Tetra from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and is the alter-ego of Princess Zelda. For more information on her, see that game's character sheet.
- And I Must Scream: Despite being Taken for Granite, Oshus claims that she is still alive, and she tells Link once revived that she had been dreaming of his journey to try and save her.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Despite being familiar with the Triforce and Ganondorf, Tetra initially disbelieves that the Ghost Ship is actually haunted.
- Damsel in Distress: The first half of the game is spent tracking down the Ghost Ship in order to save her from inside, whereas the second half revolves around defeating Bellum in order to restore her stolen life force.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Her pirates have made a habit of addressing her as Princess Zelda, despite her objections.
- Honor Among Thieves: The game opens with her assuming the Ghost Ship is just a hoax being run by a group of ordinary people. She claims to want to track them down and remind them even piracy apparently has its rules.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: The opening outright spoils that she's Zelda.
- Legendary in the Sequel: In Spirit Tracks, she is revered as the founder of the new Hyrule, with her descendant Zelda even praying to her.
- Out of Focus: Due to spending most of the game imprisoned or as a statue, she doesn’t get a lot of focus or interaction with other characters.
- Pirate Girl: Still shown to be the only girl of her crew.
- Taken for Granite: After the Ghost Ship drains her life force away, she’s left as a stone statue for the second time in the series.
Supporting Cast
Astrid
- The Aloner: The death of her assistant, Kayo, has left her as the only living resident of the Isle of Ember, yet she doesn't show a desire to pack up and leave anytime soon.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: One of the few characters in the game who isn't referenced through an Identical Grandson in Spirit Tracks. Her theme music is used for the Wise One of Papuchia Village, but there's nothing suggesting they're actually related.
- Didn't Think This Through: Her assistant had her locked in her basement to protect her from monsters, but didn't consider that the door can only be opened from the outside and he's the only one who knows how to open it.
- Due to the Dead: If you go back to check on Kayo's remains later in the game, you'll find that Astrid saw fit to give him a proper burial.
- Fortune Teller: As thanks to Link for saving her, she'll foretell the next step in his journey at no charge whenever he visits her.
- Last of His Kind: Though there could be others out there, she's the last descendant of the Cobble Kingdom who confirms herself as being such.
Zauz
A blacksmith who has secluded himself on a lone island named after him. He helps in forging the Phantom Sword.
- Accidentally Broke the MacGuffin: He mentions having possessed a Phantom Sword at one point, but either lost or destroyed it, and so he tasks Link with collecting three pure metals with which he can forge a new one.
- Dub Name Change: He's called Sauz in the original Japanese, and is renamed Sasu in Canadian French, Sazu in European French, and Effesto in Italian.
Biggoron & Gongoron
Gongoron (left) and Biggoron (right)
The chief of the Goron tribe and his stubborn young son. Link must prove to both of them that he's worthy of honorary brotherhood in order to claim the first pure metal, the Crimsonine.
- Dub Name Change: They're called Maigoron and Wheelgoron in Japanese.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Gongoron becomes playable during Link's journey through Goron Temple, helping him solve puzzles and eventually to defeat the boss, Dongorongo.
- Large and in Charge: This is the first time Biggoron has acted as the Gorons' patriarch, and although he's much smaller than his previous four appearances, he's still the largest of his kind to be seen on the island.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: Biggoron quizzes newcomers on the Gorons and their ways of life to ascertain whether they're worthy of joining the tribe. Unfortunately for Link, just passing it isn't enough to earn Gongoron's respect.
- Rolling Attack: While controlling Gongoron, his means of attack is to bowl over and slam down on enemies from above.
- Tag Team: Link is separated from Dongorongo, the boss of the Goron Temple, by a quicksand pit, so the player has to juggle using Gongoron to flip the boss over and having Link send Bombchu into its mouth from afar.
The Anouki & Yook
A pair of feuding tribes who inhabit the Isle of Frost. The former were once the protectors of the second pure metal, the Azurine, until it was stolen and hidden away by the latter.
- Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti: The Yook resemble huge yetis with glowing red eyes.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: The crazed behavior of the Yook is implied to be caused in some way by Gleeok, the boss of the Temple of Ice. Once Gleeok is defeated, they cease attacking Link and even apologize for the trouble they've caused.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Very few of the Anouki actually remember the details of their bad blood with the Yook, they have a habit of burying treasure in their front yards, and almost nothing they say is of significant help toward Link's quest. He only really works with them because they share a common goal.
- Consummate Liar: The Yook are apparently this, according to the Anouki, at least.
- Distressed Dude: Aroo, an Anouki who was abducted and replaced with a Yook impersonator. Defeating Gleeok breaks the seal on him and allows him to escape.
- Feed It a Bomb: The only way to defeat a Yook is by waiting for them to inhale so that you can feed them a bomb and then attacking while they're stunned from the blast.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: The Anouki resemble humans in heavy fur coats, but with penguin-like flippers and antlers atop their heads.
King Mutoh
- Adipose Rex: As can be seen when you meet his ghost, he's a pretty big guy.
- Barred from the Afterlife: He was woken from his eternal rest when the monster Eox took up residence in his temple. Once Link defeats Eox, Mutoh gives him the Aquanine in thanks for helping him return to sleep.
- Glowing Eyelights of Undeath: The ghosts of him and his knights have blank, white eyes, without pupils.
- Mythology Gag: His name and those of his knights (Bremeur, Brant, Doylan, and Max) are in reference to the names of the carpenters (Bremor, Brent, Doyle, and Mack) and their boss, Mutoh, from Majora's Mask and The Minish Cap. Also, the weapon you get from Mutoh's Temple is a hammer, a common carpenter's tool.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: He, his four knights, and Kayo are the only ghosts in the game who take on human forms, which Astrid implies is due to their shared Cobble heritage.
- Unstoppable Mailman: The only explanation for how he would be able to mail Link a letter, complete with a Power Gem, from his secure and remote underground tomb.
Villains and Bosses
Bellum
Bellum, Evil Phantom
The main villain of Phantom Hourglass, Bellum is a malevolent, parasitic creature. It rose from the depths and fed on life force, trapping the Ocean King in a feeble human form while it prowled the seas for victims in a Ghost Ship. It kidnapped Tetra to feed on her life force at the outset of the game. With little characterization, Bellum seems more like a parasitic force of nature than a truly malicious villain.
- Adaptational Villainy: In the Phantom Hourglass manga, Bellum is sapient, making its actions far more despicable.
- Attack Its Weak Point: The main eye in its mouth and the eyes on its tentacles are the only vulnerable parts of its body.Attacking anywhere else will just cause Link's weapons to bounce off.
- BFS: Wields an enormous sword during the final part of its battle, similar to the Phantoms.
- Big Bad: It's the source for all the calamities that occur in the waters of the Ocean King.
- Bishōnen Line: It possesses Linebeck to assume a more humanoid form.
- Boss Subtitles: Bellum, Evil Phantom.
- Casting a Shadow: Gathers dark energy around Linebeck before possessing him.
- Combat Tentacles: Both its means of attack, and its weak points during the first phase of the battle. In the last phase, it uses a tentacle on its back to slap Link around and capture Ciela.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: While Ganondorf was a calculating humanoid that had clear motivations and desires, Bellum is a (supposedly) mindless Eldritch Abomination that consumes any and all nearby life. While Ganondorf based his operations in the Forsaken Fortress and drove away all intruders, Bellum's Ghost Ship attracts victims through false legends of treasure.
- Dark Is Evil: Lampshaded by Oshus.Oshus: I struggled against my attacker in a great clash. But his evil was so dark that it slowly drained away my own life force.
- Demonic Possession: It uses this when it takes over the Ghost Ship, and again when it takes over Linebeck's body.
- Determinator: After losing his first fight to Link that resulted in his lair collapsing on him, Bellum managed to survive to kidnap Tetra again and attempt to escape with her on the Ghost Ship. After Link and Linebeck destroy the Ghost Ship, Bellum emerges and attempts to devour both Link and Tetra, only to be stopped by Linebeck. At that point, Bellum possesses Linebeck to fight Link one last time.
- Dirty Coward: Bellum spends the entire game hiding away in the Temple of the Ocean King, using the Phantoms and the Ghost Ship to carry out his dirty work. When defeated by Link at the end, Bellum immediately flees and even possesses Linebeck to use as a Human Shield out of desperation.
- Dishing Out Dirt: The Sands of Hours, used to fuel the Phantom Hourglass, was used by Bellum to create countless monsters to find more victims.
- Early-Bird Cameo: He's hinted at as early as Link's dream at the beginning of the game, where Tetra calls out to him to help, and fog surrounds around her like a bunch of appendages.
- Eldritch Abomination: Probably the most straight-up example in the series. Not only does it have a surreal form, but it's impossible to communicate with, lives far beyond the reach of man, uses avatars to interact with the outside world, doesn't think in anything even resembling human terms, and probably isn't even sentient (at least in the game, as the manga adaptation makes it more openly malicious). It more or less just is, which is one of the defining characteristics of a classic abomination.
- Evil Counterpart: Surprisingly, to Linebeck. Linebeck and Bellum are both motivated by sheer greed (treasure for Linebeck and Life Force for Bellum), both break into the Temple of the Ocean King to claim what's inside, and both are revealed to be complete cowards underneath their "tough" exteriors. The difference is that Linebeck is able to overcome his greed and cowardice to save someone close to him, while Bellum remains a spineless monster to the very end.
- Eyeless Face: Its lone eye is hidden in a mouth full of sharp teeth.
- Eyes Do Not Belong There: Its main eye is in its mouth, and it has additional ones on its tentacles.
- Fangs Are Evil: He has a series of menacing teeth surrounding his eye.
- Final-Exam Boss: The final battle involves the grappling hook, the bow, a new form of the drawing gimmick, and even some boat combat. To finish it all off is a form of swordplay you've been developing by battles against Jolene.
- Final Boss: Bellum is the ultimate source of evil in the game, so it's necessary to confront it to clear the game.
- Flight: Bellum can fly through the air.
- Flunky Boss: In its first fight with Link, it summons goo enemies to assist it in battle.
- Fusion Dance: Its final form has it fusing with Linebeck.
- Generic Doomsday Villain: He makes up for his lack of personality with the amount of threat he brings. Averted in the manga, where he is sapient.
- "Get Back Here!" Boss: Bellum possesses the Ghost Ship to escape with Tetra. Link and Linebeck must chase it down to rescue her.
- Go for the Eye: Bellum's eye(s) in each phase. In its final form, it's set into the back of Linebeck's possessed body, and it occasionally shuts to ward off Link's blows.
- Ghost Ship: The haunted ship that sails the waters of the Ocean King belongs to Bellum, who even possesses it physically during a phase of the final battle to attack Link.
- Hive Mind: It controls the Phantom Guards this way.
- Intangible Man: Bellum can move through walls, which it uses to kidnap Tetra again.
- Interim Villain: Bellum is a completely new antagonist that is unrelated to the rest of the franchise's lore, sandwiched between Ganondorf in the previous game and a new Demon King in the following game.
- King Mook: When Bellum possesses Linebeck during the last phase of the final battle, it becomes this to the Phantoms.
- Life Drain: It feeds on Life Energy, and possessed the Ocean King's Temple to drain the lives of adventurers.
- Meaningful Name: Bellum is Latin for "war".
- Mother of a Thousand Young: It used the Sands of Hours to create countless monsters to find more victims.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: There's only one weapon in all of existence that can harm Bellum: the Phantom Sword. But even then, it takes direct hits to his main eye to actually harm him. Other than that, the thing is pretty durable, surviving having its lair collapse on it and the sinking of the Ghost Ship. And that's not even going into when it possesses Linebeck and turns him into a Phantom, which has hard armor all over him.
- Non-Indicative Name: It is supposedly an Evil Phantom, but there is nothing phantom-like about it (aside from its ability to travel through walls). This is subverted when it possesses Linebeck and turns him into a Phantom-esque knight, thus making his title more meaningful.
- Nothing Is Scarier: We know next to nothing about this thing other than Oshus's backstory. We don't know where it came, what it wants, or if it's even sentient. The fact that it never speaks only adds more to the mystery. It just is.
- One-Winged Angel: Bellum plays with the trope. It starts out as a big, squid-like monster covered in eyeballs, then progresses to a possessed Ghost Ship. Once that's out of the way, though, it actually assumes a much smaller, humanoid form, via possessing Link's buddy Linebeck.
- Outside-Context Problem: No one had any idea this monster existed before it attacked and bested the Ocean King in battle. And while Ganondorf could be outsmarted and slowed down by different means, Bellum is a completely unpredictable creature who can't be so much as scratched without the Phantom Sword.
- Puppeteer Parasite: It feeds on Life Energy and it possesses Linebeck for the final battle.
- Spin Attack: Makes use of this technique after taking enough damage during the final phase; it's similar to Link's Hurricane/Great Spin (first seen in The Wind Waker), but slightly slower.
- Supernatural Gold Eyes: In its mouth and tentacles.
- Super Spit: Spits out toxic goo for the first fight.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Majora's Mask: a tentacle user with big, staring eyes, who seems more like a mindless, destructive force rather than a plotting villain.
- Tactical Suicide Boss: It’d be unbeatable during the final battle if it didn’t keep needlessly opening its eye every few seconds.
- Taken for Granite: What happens to those it drains of their life force, such as Tetra.
- Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Even though Phantom Hourglass is more lighthearted than other Zelda games (including its predecessor, The Wind Waker), the happy moments stop once this villain comes into the scene; it's an Eldritch Abomination that feeds on life force, nearly kills Oshus (though he gets better), and is devoid of any humorous traits. In the manga, Bellum is even worse, since it is clearly sentient.
- Villainous Glutton: Its hunger is its only motivation for its actions.
- The Voiceless: Aside from the weird warbling noise it makes, it doesn't utter a single line of dialogue.
- Would Hurt a Child: It kidnapped Tetra at the outset of the game.
Jolene
Linebeck's ex-girlfiend and a wily sword-wielding pirate. Link must battle her at least twice to complete the game, and can fight her additional times to receive rewards from Linebeck.
- Blade Lock: She can engage in this with Link. If the player wins the struggle, Link knocks the sword from her hand.
- Cool Boat: A small and ornate ship that can easily outmaneuver the S.S. Linebeck and fire torpedoes.
- Dark Action Girl: She's a crazed pirate, but she's also a capable adventurer and swordswoman tough enough to take on Link himself.
- Dash Attack: Her Signature Move is a slash enhanced by a quick burst of speed. If she misses Link, though, she's left wide open for a counterattack.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Adores her younger sister.
- Evil Counterpart: She is this to both Link and Tetra.
- Both Link and Jolene are sword-wielding characters who travel the seas looking for people they know. While Link wishes to save Tetra and the Ocean King, Jolene just wants to settle the score with Linebeck.
- Jolene's a pirate like Tetra, but while Tetra has a band of trusted companions and initially goes against the Ghost Ship because she believes in a sense of ethics among pirates, Jolene relies entirely on herself, cares nothing about the effects of Bellum's actions on the seas, and is single-mindedly focused on revenge.
- Fragile Speedster: She's extremely fast and agile, but cannot withstand more than four strikes from Link.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: She's a crazed lunatic who's mad at Linebeck and wants him dead. No one's blaming her really.
- Lone Wolf Boss: She has no connection to the conflict with Bellum. She just seeks out Linebeck to settle an old score.
- Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: Is revealed to be this to Linebeck. They were in a relationship until he stole some treasure and broke off the engagement, and she's been after him ever since.
- Recurring Boss: You're required to fight her at least twice in a given playthrough, and are likely to encounter her a few more times just while sailing the seas.
- Sinister Scimitar: Her weapon of choice is a broad, curved blade. She appears to have a limitless supply of them, considering she leaves one behind every time she loses.
- Sore Loser: With the exception of her last fight, she throws a small fit each time she is defeated by Link.Linebeck: She can't deal with people who are stronger than she is, that's all!
- Worthy Opponent: She comes to see Link as this.
Dungeon Bosses
Blaaz
Blaaz
The first boss of the game situated inside the Temple of Fire found on the Isle of Ember. He imprisons the Spirit of Power: Leaf.
- Dishing Out Dirt: He mixes boulders with his signature fire to create meteors.
- Dub Name Change: He's called Blaze in Japanese, and is further renamed Braziard in French and Braaz in Spanish and Italian.
- Identical Twin ID Tag: His three mini-Blaazs are identical when viewed in-game. The only way to tell them apart is by looking to the dungeon map, on which each one has a different number of horns.
- King Mook: He's basically a really powerful Wizzrobe with emphasis on fire.
- Long-Range Fighter: He really isn't good at up close combat, the most he can do is bat Link away.
- Me's a Crowd: He splits into three "mini-Blaazs", who need to be forced back together to defeat him.
- Playing with Fire: He attacks by shooting fireballs as his three mini-Blaazs and by raining down volcanic boulders once they're reunited into one.
- Puzzle Boss: He's immune to all damage unless you work out how to fuse the three mini-Blaazs back together with the boomerang.
Cyclok
Cyclok
The boss of the Temple of Wind found on the Isle of Gust. He imprisons the Spirit of Wisdom: Neri.
- Blow You Away: His shtick is attacking you with gusts of wind.
- Boss-Arena Idiocy: A multilayered example. His arena contains three holes from which a twister can appear, allowing you to make him vulnerable by launching a bomb to knock him down. Run out of bombs? No problem, you can either break the jars around the arena to get more, or grab one from the bomb flowers growing nearby, albeit the latter does require good timing as they blow up on their own after a few seconds.
- Dub Name Change: He's called Fuuokuta in Japanese, and is renamed Poulpatine in French, Octer in German and Korean, Polpolok in Italian, and Ciclóctopus in Spanish.
- Early-Bird Cameo: A variant: a distant view of the Isle of Gust shows a shot of a high plateau surrounded by pillars, which is in fact Cyclok's arena, since he is fought outdoors.
- King Mook: He's essentially just a souped up Octorok.
- Power Floats: He's carrying himself on a gust of his own wind.
- Tactical Suicide Boss: You use his very winds against him by throwing bombs through them.
Crayk
Crayk
Bane of Courage
The boss of the Temple of Courage found on Molida Island. He imprisons the Spirit of Courage: Half of Ciela.
- Attack Its Weak Point: The purple crystals on his shell in his first phase, and then his blue tail in the second phase.
- Dub Name Change: He's called Reyard in Japanese, and is renamed Crustère in French, Rejad in German, Crustula in Italian, "Shellfish Lord" in Korean, Crayk in English and American Spanish, and Crustanos in European Spanish.
- Event-Obscuring Camera: The top screen of the DS becomes his perspective, you the player have to use this as your way to strike him.
- Flunky Boss: Summons smaller crabs to distract Link.
- Invisibility: It turns invisible, and can only be decamouflaged by shooting it's eye with an arrow.
- King Mook: He's a bigger version of his hermit crablings.
- Meaningful Name: Not only does he guard the Spirit of Courage, but he can only be harmed in the first phase by shooting him in the face- that is, showing courage and facing him even if you can't see him.
- Turns Red: He becomes much more relentless once his shell breaks.
Cubus Sisters
Cubus Sisters
The boss of the Ghost Ship, a quadruplet of undead sisters that lead visitors astray.
- Co-Dragons: They are portrayed as Bellum's main enforcers, being the ones that spread rumors of their Ghost Ship and actively piloting it to obtain sacrifices for Bellum.
- Creepy Child: The Cubus sisters look like little girls in hooded dresses and are scared of spiders... but are for some reason on an extremely creepy haunted ship. Their eyes (unlike Link and Linebeck) are black, with little dots of blue in the middle, and they seem extremely "off" until the player's suspicions are confirmed and they turn into ghastly grinning flying demons.
- Escort Mission: You need to guide the three eldest sisters to the safe spot where there youngest is before they give up their façade and warp you to their boss arena.
- Faux Affably Evil: They pretend to be innocent little girls trapped aboard the Ghost Ship. However, they're really bad at it, as they'll occasionally let their true nature slip through (sometimes mid-sentence).
- Ghost Pirate: They are revealed to be the crew of the Ghost Ship, steering it on Bellum's behalf to collect victims.
- Graceful Loser: Subverted. The last one to fall in battle submits to Link's skill and leaves him the key to where Tetra’s imprisoned, calling it his "reward", but it’s clear from her demeanor that she already knows what he’s going to find down there.
- Hate Sink: All four of them intentionally annoy Link, give him terrible advice that could get him killed, and cruelly taunt him about Tetra’s fate. While most of the game's bosses are mindless monsters or simple guardians for Bellum, the Cubus Sisters stand out as particularly loathsome.
- Mythology Gag: An Escort Mission with a treacherous escortee… basically Blind of A Link to the Past multiplied by 4.
- Obviously Evil: They consistently give Link bad advice and steer him away from things that would help him, and occasionally slip into demonic chanting about those who have fallen aboard the Ghost Ship.
- Serial Killer: It's heavily implied that Link isn't the first poor soul that they've lured through the Ghost Ship, especially when they begin chanting about "the fallen".
- Succubi and Incubi: Their name invokes the succubus by shortening it to "cubus" and they steal life force from victims, but they lack the seduction aspect.
- Tennis Boss: They fill the quota for Ganondorf since he's out of commission. They fight by throwing plasma balls that you must send back with your sword, but later into the fight some of them are rigged to explode on you instead.
- Treacherous Quest Giver: The main gameplay of the Ghost Ship consists of an Escort Mission with four Obviously Evil Creepy Child girls. Upon their reunion, they reveal themselves as the dungeon's Wolfpack Boss.
- Wolfpack Boss: There are four of them. The ones not currently playing ball with you shoot lasers instead.
Dongorongo
Dongorongo
The boss of the Goron Temple, as well as the holder of the Crimsonine that Link needs to collect.
- Attack Its Weak Point: In his second phase, he forcibly uncovers a blue tumor-like growth from his hide.
- Breath Weapon: He breathes fire.
- Dub Name Change: It's called Bongorongo in Japanese, and is renamed Stégoronsaure in French and Dongorongo in English and Italian.
- Flipping Helpless: Gongoron needs to ram the beast on his side in order to be vulnerable.
- Feed It a Bomb: Par for the course for a Dodongo. The first phase requires tripping him up in order to send a Bombchu into his mouth from afar, while the second phase goes the traditional route of feeding him a bomb as he's inhaling for an attack.
- Flunky Boss: He sics worms at Link to preoccupy him.
- Mythology Gag: He's very similar to Dodongos from earlier installments, with him even camping out where Gorons are native.
- Not Quite Dead: He appears to die at first, but gets back up once Gongoron has left the room.
- Sequential Boss: You initially team up with Gongoron to defeat him. However, after Gongoron leaves and you cross the bridge to his side of the field, he turns out to be Not Quite Dead and you must finish him off alone.
Gleeok
Gleeok
The boss of the Temple of Ice, as well as the holder of the Azurine that Link needs to collect.
- Boss-Arena Idiocy: Without the pegs on Gleeok's arena, Link wouldn't be able to use his grappling hook, which is essential to making Gleeok vulnerable.
- Breath Weapon: Each head has its own — ice for the left and fire for the right. It's more obvious with their Charged Attack.
- Charged Attack: In phase two, they power up a super-strong elemental blast to coat the arena. It's at this point they expose their tongues for Link to yank them down to the arena floor and stun them to get wailed on.
- Dub Name Change: Not in English — it's still called Gleeok in Japanese — but it's renamed Griock in French, Spanish and Italian.
- Elemental Dragon: It's a dragon whose two heads respectively breathe fire and ice. Defeating them requires you to use the grappling hook as a slingshot to redirect the projectiles of one head toward the other.
- Fire/Ice Duo: Gleeok, the boss of the Temple of Ice, is a two-headed dragon that can shoot fireballs from its red head and frigid ice from its blue.
- An Ice Person: The left head breathes ice.
- Making a Splash: They'll retreat underwater on occasion in order to send a massive tidal wave at Link.
- Mythology Gag: Gleeok makes its first appearance since Oracle of Seasons, but is given powers similar to that of Trinexx from A Link to the Past (one head shoots fire, the other shoots ice).
- Playing with Fire: The right head breathes fire.
- Stationary Boss: It remains stationary at the far side of its arena, and attacks Link at range with its breath weapons.
- Tactical Suicide Boss: You need to direct their shots at one another in phase one. This ceases to work by phase two as they each destroy one of the four posts in the room, but now when preparing their Charged Attack they open themselves up to Link yanking them down to the boss floor to stun and slash at them.
- Tennis Boss: In order to damage them in the first phase you need to direct their own shots at each other with the Grappling Hook to shatter their masks.
- Uniformity Exception: The only boss to be a returning character from a previous Zelda game.
- Waterfront Boss Battle: Gleeok is fought in a flooded chamber in the Temple of Ice, where the dragon remains half-submerged and only leaves its necks and heads above water. Link fights it while standing on an emerged platform, resulting in a very back-and-forth fight as Link can't leave his perch and Gleeok is a Stationary Boss that doesn't leave its spot, and the battle mostly consists of reflecting Gleeok's Breath Weapons back at it, and later of using a grappling hook to pull the heads across to where Link can reach them, while trying to ride it out its periodic flooding of the platform.
Eox
Eox
The boss of Mutoh's Temple, as well as the holder of the Aquanine that Link needs to collect.
- Attack Its Weak Point: His various Pressure Points in the first two phases of the fight, and the giant crystal on his head during the final phase.
- Boss-Arena Idiocy: The only reason Link can reach all of Eox's weak spots are the pedestals around the arena, which he uses to launch himself with the hammer.
- Death from Above: He will fire arrows out of his face down at Link for the first two phases. He'll still use it by the final phase, but since he's on your level now it no longer applies.
- Dub Name Change: It's called Ooisu in Japanese, Oohiss in French, Ohis in German, and Ois in Korean.
- Losing Your Head: Even after the rest of his body has fallen apart, his head will continue to hop around the room in an attempt to finish Link off.
- Pressure Point: He has a number of them, which must be struck with the hammer in order to break apart both his stone exterior and the wooden framework holding him up.
Minibosses
Giant Eye Plants
Large, hostile plants that are fought twice: once on the way to Molida Island and once when returning to Bannan Island. In both cases, they emerge from the sea and try to sink the SS Linebeck by spitting spiky pods at it.
- Bullet Seed: They attack by shooting large spiked seeds at the ship.
- Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: They suddenly appear as ship-combat bosses when Link tries to dock at certain islands throughout the story. Their designs imply that they're minions of Bellum, but nobody in-game confirms it. The second Giant Eye Plant only shows up during the last leg of the optional Trading Sequence, making it even more unexpected.
- Go for the Eye: To harm them, Link needs to shoot them in their large, protruding eyes with the ship's cannon.
- Recurring Boss: You fight this boss when arriving on Molida Island during the main story, and again when arriving on Bannan Island at the end of a Trading Sequence sidequest.
Massive Eye
A large, six-eyed whale-like monster that attacks the SS Linebeck on the way to Goron Island.
- Enemy Summoner: During its battle, it summons common weaker enemies to harass the S.S. Linebeck.
- Flunky Boss: Spawns common enemies over the course of the fight.
- Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: It suddenly appear as a ship-combat boss when Link tries to dock at certain islands throughout the story. Its design implies that it's a minion of Bellum, but nobody in-game confirms it.
- Go for the Eye: To defeat it, Link needs to use the ship cannon to shoot it twice in each of its six eyes.
- Space Whale: It resembles a huge, monstrous cetacean that flies around in midair.
